TIP OF THE DAY NO. 2: KNOW WHAT TYPE OF UNINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGE YOU HAVE.
By Ben Sessions on June 15th, 2017 in Car / Auto Accident, Lyft Accident, Tips of the Day, Uber Accident
KNOW YOUR UNDERINSURED/UNINSURED MOTORIST POLICY
All too frequently, I consult with people that have been involved in a car accident that has left them seriously injured, but they are unable to recover the money they are entitled to because the person that caused their injuries had insufficient insurance coverage, or even worse, no insurance coverage at all. Do not put your financial future at risk by continuing to ignore your uninsured motorist coverage options. The long-term costs of ignoring your Underinsured/Uninsured motorist policy coverage can be financially catastrophic.
It is vitally important that you know what type of uninsured motorist coverage you have. Unfortunately, most insurance agents do not take the time to explain to consumers (you) the various types of auto insurance policies and products available. As a result, many people learn what type of coverage they have after they have been injured in a car accident by a driver that has insufficient coverage or worse, none at all.
Underinsured/Uninsured motorist coverage is the way that we protect ourselves from motorists that do not carry sufficient insurance coverage. If you are legally entitled to recover from another person that causes an accident and that person does not have sufficient insurance to pay for the injuries you suffer, an Underinsured/Uninsured motorist policy can help you. You cannot control the amount of insurance that anyone else has, but you can control the amount of Underinsured/Uninsured motorist coverage available to you. Unfortunately, most people do not know whether they have uninsured motorist coverage and, perhaps most importantly, do not understand what the limits of their coverage are.
The “limit of coverage” available under the policy is the amount of money available to you under the terms of the policy. Multiple different variations of Underinsured/Uninsured motorist coverage are permissible under Georgia law, and you may have elected not to have Underinsured/Uninsured motorist coverage. Adding Underinsured/Uninsured coverage is relatively inexpensive. And the benefits can be tremendous should a situation arise where the person who injured you had insufficient insurance on his/her policy.
Unfortunately, you cannot modify your insurance coverage after you have been injured in a car accident. Today’s Tip of the Day takes no more than 5 minutes but it could be the difference between you and your family receiving adequate compensation following a car accident or not. First, you must know the policy limits of your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. Second, and perhaps most importantly, you must know if you have add-on or reduced-by uninsured motorist coverage.
As explained in the video here, added-on uninsured motorist coverage means that your available recovery following a car accident is increased. For an added-on uninsured motorist policy, your available policy limit is added on top of the at-fault party’s insurance policy. Let us presume that your injuries are valued at $50,000.00. The at-fault party (the driver that caused your injuries) has $25,000.00 in available liability coverage. If you have $25,000.00 in added-on uninsured motorist coverage, your available coverage will be $50,000.00. If you have reduced-by uninsured motorist coverage, your maximum recovery will be $25,000.00, and you will not be adequately compensated for your injuries resulting from the car accident.
Please take a moment to contact your agent and request a copy of your insurance binder, including your uninsured motorist policy. Make sure that you understand how much uninsured motorist coverage is available to you. You want to make sure that you have an “add on” policy, which allows you to add your uninsured coverage to any insurance that an at-fault driver might have. This is very useful in situations where the at-fault driver has insurance, but it is less than your medical bills. If you are having difficulty determining what coverage is provided under your uninsured motorist coverage policy, contact The Sessions Law Firm or call us at (470) 225-7710 or (478) 254-2665. These few moments can make a world of difference for the future of your family.